Google has updated its Messages app and brings a lot of new features to Android users. In addition, it also updates the app icon.
Of course, it’s no surprise that Google is pushing Rich Communication Services (RCS). The company first added RCS support to its Messages app in 2018 and has been championing the cause ever since. The RCS push has become something of a rallying cry over the past few years, as Google has repeatedly urged Apple to adopt the service as part of its messaging platform. As part of its latest news update, Google brings more benefits to RCS and also brings a number of new features that will undoubtedly be useful to its users.
While it hasn’t won the battle against Apple yet, the company has worked to make communication between Android and iOS as seamless as possible. Earlier this year, Messages drew emoji reactions from iPhone users. It will also now allow Android users to respond to messages with emojis. In addition, reminders will now be part of Messages, sending you notifications on days you may have forgotten important events and ensuring you stay on top of your event calendar.
In addition, YouTube will now be better integrated and allow users to watch videos in the chat window whenever a link to the service is sent. This will keep the user in the chat and prevent them from jumping from app to app. To keep things more organized in conversations, Messages will now be able to allow individual replies to specific messages. It will now also ask users for popular messages that contain important information such as addresses, codes and phone numbers.
In addition, it will now also recognize phrases requiring other forms of communication and suggest setting up a video call via Google Meet. Additionally, some countries will get an experimental feature that will allow instant messaging with a business when a business is found using Google Search or Maps. Of course, you can use more than just your phone to communicate, as Messages is compatible with your web browser, Chrome, Chromebooks, and even the newly released Pixel Watch.
Another incentive is that Google has partnered with United Airlines to offer free messaging on United flights if you have RCS enabled. The service will be available for most carriers starting this autumn. If all that wasn’t enough, Google is updating the app icon to bring it in line with other products. At the same time, it also updates its Phone and Contacts applications. If you haven’t already, check out the Messages app and try out the new benefits.
